Well, here we go again. Travelers heading to airports this weekend face a lot of uncertainty as parts of the federal government shut down overnight.
The good news: Air travel disruptions should not be as severe as those seen last fall during the longest government shutdown in history.
But if this latest standoff continues, it could (eventually) lead to queues at airport security checkpoints.
What happened?
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security halted many operations shortly after midnight Saturday as lawmakers on Capitol Hill were unable to reach a funding deal.
TSA Unpaid Jobs
While much of the current debate in Washington revolves around U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security also oversees an agency critical to airport operations: the Transportation Security Administration.
Now, 95 percent of TSA employees are considered essential federal workers. So you definitely won’t see airport checkpoints closed. Officers will be required to report to work (again) but will not be paid immediately.
Will they continue to show up?
That’s always a big problem when you ask people to work without pay.
Weeks after the government shutdown last fall was Houston was flooded with emergency calls at one point, resulting in hours of security backup at both George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and William P. Hobby Airport (HOU).
But overall, TSA checkpoints are generally operating smoothly, giving travelers hope of avoiding major delays — though, as we’ve seen with past shutdowns, the longer things drag out, the bigger the impact tends to be.
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How about airport customs?
We will also be closely monitoring wait times at airport passport control centres.
The officers are made up of U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, part of the Department of Homeland Security, who, like TSA officers, must work without pay until the department resumes normal operations.
Flight delays are unlikely
The good news: Unlike the government shutdown in the fall, we shouldn’t see mass flight cancellations and delays.
Congress has provided funding for the U.S. Department of Transportation, which oversees the Federal Aviation Administration and air traffic control.
This means staff at our control towers and FAA facilities will not have to work without pay as they did in the fall, which is what led to massive job calls and the resulting air travel woes.
National parks will not close
National parks will also remain open, thanks to funding already secured by the U.S. Department of the Interior. So will popular landmarks and attractions that receive federal funding, such as the Smithsonian Museum in Washington.
What should you do if you are going to fly?
If I’m flying in the next few days, I’ll be paying close attention to reports on airport operations for any word on the TSA’s primary backup.
It certainly doesn’t hurt to arrive at the terminal a little earlier than usual. Follow the airport you’re flying from on social media to get alerts about any longer-than-expected wait times.
But don’t expect the usually handy MyTSA app, which typically tracks real-time checkpoint wait times, to be inoperable during last fall’s shutdown.
If you are a TSA PreCheck member (or have access to TSA PreCheck through Global Entry), make sure you have opted in to the new and rapidly expanding TSA PreCheck Contactless ID program. It’s faster than regular TSA PreCheck, comes at no additional cost, and is available at a rapidly growing list of airports.
Be sure to select your airline in advance.
How about passport control?
If you’re flying into the U.S. from abroad, Global Entry remains the gold standard for getting through passport control quickly.
But if you’re not a Global Entry member, you can still use the free Mobile Passport Control app to shorten queues at many international hubs.
long term worries
While there’s good hope that this small partial government shutdown won’t result in massive travel delays, concerns remain over the longer term.
In a report to Congress this week, TSA’s top leader said last fall’s government shutdown led to a 25% jump in the number of agency departures.
The move comes as the TSA plans staffing ahead of this summer’s FIFA World Cup in the United States, raising concerns about security backups.
“Another shutdown will severely impact TSA’s ability to meet the needs of these personnel,” TSA Acting Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill said Wednesday.
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